1231.3425.01 – Data Analysis in Marketing
(Prerequisites: Marketing Management with a grade of at least 78, Statistic Models in Business Administration)
First Semester – 2016/17
Section / Day / Hour / Exam date / Lecturer / Email / Telephone01 / Monday / 18:45-20:00 / As posted on the list of exams / Dr. Peter Pal Zubcsek /
Tutorial 01:
Section / Day / Hour / Teaching Assistant / Email / Telephone10 / Monday / 20:15-21:30 / Mr. Rafael Hod
Office Hours: TBD
Course Units1 course unit = 4 ECTS units
The ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) is a framework defined by the European Commission to allow for unified recognition of student academic achievements from different countries.
Course Description and Course ObjectivesThe overarching purpose of this course is to convey the ample benefits of a systematic, analytical approach to marketing decision-making, and to build skills /knowledge / confidence in undertaking such analyses on your own. An analytical approach will enable you to: (1) identify appropriate marketing options and actions, (2) calibrate costs and expected returns associated with each, and (3) choose those with the highest likelihood of achieving one’s business goals. That is, you will be on the happy path to “Marketing ROI”, which companies are increasingly obsessed about (for good reason).
“Why Marketing Engineering? Don’t I know enough about Marketing already?”
This course zooms onward from the Marketing Core course in several concrete ways, but mainly in terms of how to actually “do” marketing concepts like segmentation, targeting, positioning, and marketing resource allocation. By the end of this course, you will learn how to extract information in the ways marketers are increasingly required to, for example, to: segment customers and markets, identify attractive targeting prospects, determine the best brand positioning in customers’ minds, develop new products that add value to consumers and firms… and more. But, most of all, you will become adept in systematizing decision-making based on powerful, proven modeling methodology.
We will also manage to cover a lot of ground typically bundled under “marketing analytics”, including such fun stuff as factor / cluster / latent class / conjoint analyses, heterogeneity, hierarchical models, multidimensional scaling, etc. We will NOT be approaching these topics theoretically, that is, via equations, proofs and other things most people hate. Instead, we’ll learn how they work, when to use them, and what they tell marketers.
Course Structure
The basic pedagogical approach is to employ a mix of learning methods consistent with the relatively compressed ‘module’ format of this course. There will be lectures, class discussions, software tools, cases, and assigned readings. Class sessions will be devoted to probing, extending and applying the material in the readings and the cases. One could call this “Tell-Show-Do”, a sequence providing hands-on experience in using the course materials for making marketing decisions. Lectures (always supplemented by the text) will cover the concepts and models you need in order to understand – and to apply – a scientific approach to marketing. Applications are illustrated in the cases, readings, and the examples; the software tools allow for hands-on opportunities to apply the concepts and models to resolve real-life marketing problems.
Class time will be split approximately evenly between a “lecture / case discussion” part and a “tutorial” part (taught by the TA for the course). To accommodate a longer discussion, occasionally the lecture part will last longer than 75 minutes. On these occasions, the tutorial part will be accordingly shorter.
Course MaterialsPrinciples of Marketing Engineering, 2nd edition. Gary L. Lilien, Arvind Rangaswamy, and Arnaud De Bruyn, DecisionPro Publishers, 2013.
This book is a classic, and we will follow it very closely. A copy of the Marketing Engineering software associated with the book will be provided to all students in exchange for the reprint / digital rights corresponding to the five case studies used in the course. (Please contact the MBA Office for more details.) Some of the other materials load automatically with the software, and still more will appear via Moodle. Everything will be in PDF, and there is no coursepack as such.
The reading assignments from Principles of Marketing Engineering are required, before class. This provides the necessary background materials for class discussions. There will also be supplemental materials, mainly “tutorials” on how to run various models through the provided software. Most cases will appear automatically when you load the software, in a folder called “My Marketing Engineering” (note: I did not pick this cutesy title). Most everything will be put on Moodle as well, for easy access anywhere. (Copyright notes: 1. The book chapters available on Moodle will be rotated throughout the semester, and 2. Students will need to obtain the reprint / digital rights for the case studies used in the course from the MBA Office.)
Policy on Laptops, Cell Phones, and Other DevicesTo be discussed during the first lecture. Note that you will be expected to use your own laptop computer (equipped with Microsoft Excel) during the tutorial part of each class.
Student GroupsYou will be allowed to form your own groups for the purposes of case analyses and assignments, but I reserve the right to place latecomers etc. into appropriate homes. I will communicate more details about the group formation process during the first class (on October 31st, 2016).
Groups should have 6 (or 5) members and strive for heterogeneity in composition. Critical Note: At the end of the semester, group members will rate one another in terms of their relative contribution in group work. As such, shirking group responsibilities is by far the surest route to oblivion.
Evaluation (Composition of Grade)Final grades will be determined according to the following scale:
35% / Hand-in Case (4)
(ultra mandatory) / Group / TBD depending on the assignment of each case to groups
25% / Exam
(not mandatory) / Individual / TBD
40% / Case Preparation and Participation / Group and Individual / Case Preparation: Case sessions
Participation: All sessions
Note that group work accounts for more than half the final course grade; choose your group wisely! The class participation component includes any and all ungraded assignments (mainly at the beginning of the semester), which will form the bases of class discussion. Obsequiousness and a cheery demeanor count on the margins.
The different grade components are described in detail below.
Course AssignmentsClass Attendance and Contribution (Participation)
Attendance in every class and tutorial is expected and recorded. (This is in line with University regulations (Article 5).*) Please note the following conditions. First, you are responsible for any marking next to your name on the attendance sheet. For attendance purposes, only full signatures are accepted—thus no initials, written names, or other symbols. Second, students arriving 15 minutes or more after the scheduled start of class will not be allowed in the classroom unless they sought permission beforehand.
Critically, note that any absence, excused or otherwise, will negatively affect your score on this component of your final grade. Three or more unexcused absences will result in an automatic score of zero on class contribution and, in all likelihood, a fail mark for the course as a whole. In line with school policy, absences can be excused only under truly extenuating circumstances.
All students should read each case and conduct sufficient analyses to be able to address the questions specified in the case (among others). Everyone is expected to contribute actively to case discussions, as well as offer elaborations and examples during lecture sessions. [Please bring name cards to classes.] This component of the course will count toward a hefty portion of your course grade, as indicated above under “Evaluation.”
In evaluating class participation, quality counts more than quantity. I will try to assess how your contributions enhance both the content and process of a discussion. You can help here by actually contributing regularly to the content and process of the discussions.
Remember that you are welcome to ask for more information on how I grade class attendance and contribution or to seek feedback on your performance at any time during the course. Simply send me an email or approach me in class.
* Students who absent themselves from classes or do not actively participate in class may be removed from the course at the discretion of the lecturer. (Students remain financially liable for the course even if they are removed.)
Case Write-ups (Group)
This course focuses on “learning by doing.” In that spirit, teams will analyze each assigned case before class and develop their recommendations. For each case that we will discuss, your team is required to submit an absolutely-no-more-than-two-page executive summary that contains your recommendations and rationale for them. Use the case discussion questions as a guide in developing your recommendations. These case write-ups are due well before class: by 10AM on the day OF case discussions. Late submissions are acceptable if the apocalypse comes, but otherwise not.
Each team is also required to do at least one in-class case presentation (the number will depend on the number of teams in the course; we will have at least one team, but preferably two, presenting each case). This is not shorthand for “blow off the cases you are not presenting”. Presentations will be arranged well in advance for your team to prepare appropriately. These will be assigned randomly, once groups stabilize. You need not submit an executive summary for the case you will be presenting. Instead send me a copy of your slides along with any accompanying notes (by the same deadline).
Note: Please upload one-page summaries in PDF, but, for presentations, I’ll need both PDF and “native” format (XLS, PPT, DOC, etc.) Include your group number (I’ll send those out) in all filenames and on all documents, or I will have a total meltdown. [I’ll specify naming conventions later.]
Exam
There is a final exam. It will be OPTIONAL. Full details of this mysterious process will be provided later. The main idea is that, if grades really matter to you, you will have the opportunity to distinguish yourself via the exam. If grades aren’t that important, you can take the exam for fun, or elect not to.
Grading PolicyIn the 2008/9 academic year the Faculty instituted a grading policy for all graduate level courses that aims to maintain a certain level of the final course grade. Accordingly, this policy will be applied to this course's final grades.
Additional information regarding this policy can be found on the Faculty website.
Evaluation of the Course by StudentsFollowing the completion of the course, students will participate in a survey to evaluate the instructor and the course – to provide feedback for the benefit of the students, the teachers and the University.
Course Site (Moodle)The course site will be the primary tool to communicate messages and material to students. You should check the course site regularly for information on classes, reading materials, and assignments.
All reading materials, including case studies will be available on the course website. (Copyright law notes: 1. The book chapters available on Moodle will be rotated throughout the semester, and
2. Students will need to obtain the reprint / digital rights for the case studies used in the course from the MBA Office.)
Date / Topics / Preparation & Deliverables
Oct 31 / Course Overview
Fun and Informative Stats Review 1/2
Data Analysis in Excel (Examples) / LRD Preface
Nov 7 / Introduction: Scientific Marketing Analysis
Case: Coors I (Read… and Prepare to Buy!) / LRD Ch. 1
Case (Moodle)
Nov 14 / Case: Coors II (Solve; in Groups; nothing to hand in)
Fun and Informative Stats Review 2/2
Data Analysis in Excel (Examples) / Case
Getting Started Tutorial
Nov 21 / Forecasting
OfficeStar Forecasting Example / LRD Ch. 5
Optional: Forecasting Tutorial
Nov 28 / Segmentation & Targeting (Cluster, Discriminant)
Factor Analysis
OfficeStar Segmentation Example / LRD Ch. 2-3 (skim 37-49)
FKT Ch.11 (471-494)
Dec 5 / Case: Segmentation / Case Solution
Segmentation and Classification Tutorial
Dec 12 / Positioning (Perceptual Maps, MDS)
OfficeStar Positioning Example / LRD Ch. 4
Dec 19 / Case: Positioning / Case Solution
Positioning Tutorial
Dec 26 / Selected Topics
Guest Speaker: TBA
Jan 2 / Logit / Discrete Choice Analysis
Guadagni-Little Article (Scanner Panel Data)
OfficeStar Customer Choice Example / LRD Ch. 2 (45-49)
G&L Article (Moodle)
Jan 9 / Case: Consumer Choice / Case Solution
Consumer Choice Tutorial
Jan 16 / New Product Design and Conjoint
OfficeStar Conjoint Example
Online Conjoint Examples / LRD Ch. 6
Jan 23 / Case: Conjoint / Case Solution
Conjoint Tutorial
Jan 30 / Advanced Topics and Heterogeneity
Wrap-Up and Take-Aways / LRD Ch. 7-8 (skim at most)
TBD / Exam / Studying (lots!)
*Subject to change
LRD: Lilien, Rangaswamy, & De Bruyn (2013): Principles of Marketing Engineering (2nd ed.)
FKT: Feinberg, Kinnear, & Taylor (2013): Modern Marketing Research: Concepts, Methods, and Cases (2nd ed.)
G&L Article: Guadagni, P. M., & Little, J. D. (1983). “A logit model of brand choice calibrated on scanner data.” Marketing science, 2(3), 203-238.
The cases, book chapter readings, and relevant articles will be uploaded to the course website before the corresponding classes. (However, students will need to obtain the reprint / digital rights for the case studies used in the course from the MBA Office.)